Hartland Robotics Team Qualifies for Nationals But Faces Money Problem

The good news: The Hartland Electro Eagles qualified for the FIRST Robotics nationals over the weekend during the state tournament at Eastern Michigan University as one of two top rookie squads.

The bad news: The team may not be able to attend the competition as it faces a $5,000 registration fee with a Thursday deadline, plus an estimated $7,000 in travel and lodging costs for eight students and three coaches for the April 27-30 event in St. Louis, MO.

A few big donors stepped up to fund registration for the state competition when Eagles Organizers are hoping more people in the Hartland area will step up again to support the team.

"We've got to find a way to get them out there," said Dr. Erika Johnson, a Hartland dentist whose office donated $2,200 for the state tournament and plans to encourage others to support the team this week.

"They're such a new group, people are kind of hesitant."

Founded by entrepreneur Dean Kamen in 1989, FIRST stands for For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology. Billed as a "varsity sport for the mind," the robotics competitions have grown in popularity in recent years and Hartland's team — which includes students from and — is small compared to most that sometimes have more than 50.

Johnson, who decided to support the team after attending a recent fundraiser at , said the she donated because she's impressed with how the competition encourages teamwork and character building.

For instance, teams compete in groups of three and can help each other and Johnson noted how during one competition, the Hartland team donated a motor to another team that precluded its chances at a win. Students also engage in presentations that force an analytical thinking they'll need as adults, she said.

"Sometimes it's not always about winning. I wanted the kids to have these experiences,"  said the 36-year-old South Lyon resident who was a dentist in the Navy before starting her practice in Hartland about four years ago.

"There's a lot of character building going on and that's really important. This is something I'd want my kids involved in," added Johnson, who has two daughters, aged 4 and 7.

In the game, Logo Motion, two alliances of three teams use robots to earn points by hanging logos on poles and through mini-bots to scale vertical poles.

At the state competition, the Hartland Electro Eagles finished 18th out of 64 teams in the standings with a 7-4-1 record, but the team didn't qualify for nationals until it was named one of two top rookie teams.

"They became unglued," said Jeff Schlueter, a parent-adviser, who's son Scotty, 15, is on the team, describing the rookie-award announcement that was followed by a second announcement about nationals a few minutes later. "It was quite a moment."

Schlueter said the team is appreciative of the financial support — which includes $1,000 from Hartland High School — and hopes to keep the student cost at zero but added that might have to change considering the new costs.

"Once again we're stumped with the same problem," he said, adding that they're hoping for more help like Johnson provided.

The dentist missed the competition because of a cold, but she watched the team compete in several matches on YouTube. To watch some, click on the attached video.

"The fact they went to nationals is icing on the case," she said. "It's cool."

Those interested in helping the team, can contact coach Matt Bednarski at intiernascar@hotmail.com.

Editor's note: This story was updated Monday to correct a link to Dr. Johnson's website. The previous link was to (which also has a Dr. Johnson) at 11525 Highland Rd., Suite 11. Erika Johnson's practice is in Suite 12 in the same building. Hartland Patch regrets any confusion caused by the error.